The Disappearing Act
by GhostOfTwilight
Summary: She's young alone and scared. Leaving the only family she has ever know and ever had. Terri goes in search of her real family. Like any orphan would do, want to do, never do.
1. Chapter 1

_I'm sorry, but this is something I have to do._

_If you're reading this note then I'm probably long gone. I've wanted to tell you in person that I was leaving, but I could never find the right way to spark the conversation. Truly, I appreciate everything you've done for me. You made me feel like I belonged to an actual family when I had none to begin with, but I was never truly a part of your family. I wish I was from the bottom of my heart._

_I've gone to find my parents, and maybe finally receive some answers as to who I am. Please don't worry about me. I'll be fine. Like you said, I'm pretty tough. You've done enough for me as it is. So please, I ask you not to come looking for me. It'll only cause me trouble, writing this note is hard for me to do._

_Remember that no matter how far I travel, I'll always love you as if you were my family. I'm sorry I wasn't the best daughter I could have been._

_Love,_

_Terri_


	2. Chapter 2

- & -

There comes a time in everyone's life when you stop and think _where has time gone? _It was almost like time had sped up when you weren't looking. Before you could do anything to stop it your entire life would pass you by in milliseconds. I knew I was slipping, slowly. That somehow I had lost myself in the means of discovering who I really was. The way I had led my life up to this point was entirely wrong, I can admit that. Still, in a way I couldn't help but feel like it was entirely right. As if everything I'd been through within the past few months had meant something more than me, much more than anything I had ever been or hoped to be.

To be honest, I never pictured myself being what I was now. There wasn't a single time when I thought I had made a mistake, but now looking at my empty room I began to second guess myself. It had taken a whole week to concoct a plan for escape. Like any ordinary orphan, I didn't know who my parents were and longed to discover their identity on my own.

My foster parents weren't bad people, really, they just weren't _real_. I never truly fit into their plan of a normal family. I didn't get along with my foster brother and sister. No matter how hard I studied the night before, I wouldn't get good grades like they would. All in all, I had always felt like I was missing _something_. I had a feeling it was because I didn't know my parents which led me to devise such an elaborate plan to search for them.

I placed the note I wrote for my family gently on my pillow. All of my belongings were stripped from my closet and dresser drawers. In total, my clothes only took up a single backpack and duffel bag. My room looked so empty for some reason. Even though the posters I tacked to the walls of my favorite bands and the trophies I had one from swimming still remained in their designated spots without my clothes everything looked bland. With a heavy sigh, I pulled my orange backpack onto my shoulders while dragging my matching duffel bag behind me.

It was now or never.

I headed toward my open window and tossed my duffel bag out carefully. A soft thud resonated from the ground when it landed, and I waited a few moments to see if anything happened afterward. I held my breath praying my family was still a bunch of heavy sleepers. Thankfully, they were. Upon no sign of movement within the household, I proceeded to climb out of my window.

I sat, uncomfortably, on the ledge of my windowsill and reached out toward the large tree branch a few feet from the house. Believe it or not, I had done this more than once before. Like all teenage girls I always snuck out at night to see my boyfriend or go to a party. Janet and Alan, my foster parents, never caught on to what I was doing, and I was glad they hadn't. I would have been in a world of trouble if they had. My hands gripped the bark covered branch and I hauled my body into the tree skillfully. It only took me a few minutes to climb down the tree and land safely on the ground.

A fleeting moment of nostalgia overwhelmed me, and before I could stop myself I looked back at the red brick two story house I once called home. My heart was thundering inside my chest. I didn't want to leave. I really didn't, but it was far past time I did something on my own. There was no turning back, and I knew I had to do this.

From now on I was no longer Theresa Kathryn Freer. I was Theresa Kathryn, Terri for short, the runaway orphan.

Little did I know this was the beginning of an adventure I had never really wanted for myself.

R&R


End file.
